Leaders of the world's richest countries come bearing agendas - and rounds from bitter internal fights. The world stage might even offer some respite.

Leaders of the world's richest countries come bearing agendas - and
rounds from bitter internal fights. The world stage might even offer
some respite.

Germany

Population:
82 million

GDP:
$3.273 trillion (U.S.)

Leader:
Chancellor Angela Merkel

G8 issue:
Merkel has been leading European discussions to contain the Greek debt crisis and calm spooked markets. So expect Merkel to be focused on the economy. But Germany will also be wanting to see climate change high on the agenda and dealt with more prominently, rather the sideshow that Stephen Harper called it.

Quirky country fact:
German President Horst Koehler quit the largely ceremonial post in May after comments in which he appeared to tie Germany’s military deployments with the nation’s economic interests. Koehler came under fire after saying that deployments could be “necessary . . . in order to defend our interests, for example free trade routes,” according to The Associated Press. Though his comments were made after a visit to Afghanistan — where Germany has 4,500 troops — his office said he was referring to anti-piracy patrols off Africa. Still, it was a reminder that Germany’s Afghan mission remains unpopular and controversial on the home front.

United States

Population:
310 million

GDP:
$14.43 trillion (U.S.)

Leader:
President Barack Obama

G8 issue:
Global security issues will top Washington’s agenda for the G8. Obama will be asking G8 leaders to unite behind tough language in dealing with the bad boys on the block — Iran and North Korea. However, unless BP finally manages to plug its leaky well, Obama is certain to be distracted during his summit visits by the nightmare of bubbling crude.

Quirky country fact:
Third-largest country in the world. About half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; more than twice the size of the European Union.

France

Population:
64 million

GDP:
$2.666 trillion (U.S.)

Leader:
President Nicolas Sarkozy

G8 issue:
France has played the bridge between hardliners in the United States and the reluctant Russians when it comes to drafting sanctions meant to stop Iran from producing nuclear weapons. Those sanctions recently passed a vote at the United Nations Security Council.

Quirky country fact:
Sarkozy struggles in opinion polls when he spends too much time at home, where he can be bogged down by anything from France’s powerful unions, its ailing economy or the latest rumours about the president’s love life, or that of his wife, Carla Bruni (there are often separate tales of romance besetting the presidential relationship). When Sarkozy takes to the skies his support surges. When dealing with global matters — be it Europe’s economy, Iran or France’s renewed interest in Africa — the president is seen as a strong and influential leader, so look for a performance next week. It seems to go over well in the nation that gave the world Napoleon.

Britain

Population:
61.3 million

GDP:
$2.224 trillion (U.S.)

Leader:
Prime Minister David Cameron

G8 issue:
The scandal in recent weeks has been a leaked G8 communiqué which makes no mention of a 2005 pledge by the group to double aid to Africa’s poorest countries. That was the signature initiative of former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose party and successor were recently defeated by Cameron’s Conservative coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Officials in Cameron’s office said they would make sure to mention the aid commitments when the final draft is released.

Quirky country fact:
There are close ties between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his British counterpart. During the election, word got out that former Harper election guru Patrick Muttart had been offering advice to Cameron’s party, including having the U.K. Tory stare down and intimidate Labour’s Gordon Brown during the televised debate. Unfortunately that’s one of the few areas where Ottawa and London see eye to eye. Harper’s signature push to kill a proposed global bank tax didn’t get Cameron’s support when the two met at 10 Downing St. earlier this month.

Italy

Population:
58 million

GDP:
$2.114 trillion (U.S.)

Leader:
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

G8 issue:
Italy has no desire to follow its Mediterranean neighbour Greece into a debt crisis so severe that the country was on the point of collapse, and will want to convince other leaders it needs no bailouts or punishments to speed things along. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gave a strong signal that Italy was serious about getting its books in order and doing its part to stabilize the euro by pledging a massive budget cut of $30.4 billion over the next two years and cracking down on the underground economy.

Quirky country fact:
The populist billionaire Silvio Berlusconi is a colourful character. His wife publicly chastised him — and sued for divorce — in the wake of allegations he had been courting a teenage girl. He also stacked his cabinet with attractive young women, including a former topless model, and complimented U.S. President Barack Obama on his “sun tan” — for the second time — after having ogled his wife. Critics have often pointed to the fact that his media empire controls the top private television stations in Italy as one explanation for his staying in power despite repeated gaffes.

Russia

Population:
139 million

GDP:
$1.232 trillion (U.S.)

Leader:
President Dmitry Medvedev

G8 issue:
The power of Russia is in its energy. The country is rich with oil and natural gas and has not been shy about cutting it off as punishment for a diplomatic squabble, as it did to Ukraine a few years ago. But this time around other G8 leaders might want to ask Russia more about another form of energy: nuclear. Russia is an ally of Iran and had been insisting on its right to carry out a contract to sell missiles to the proliferating nation, but then came through and froze delivery of the weapons after also supporting recent UN sanctions aimed at kicking Iran out of the arms race.

Quirky country fact:
If Canadians think our leaders have a tough time grappling with regional interests on the national stage, try governing Russia. The country is the largest on Earth when it comes to surface area, spanning nine different time zones from Kaliningrad to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Canada has six. And Canada might opine existentially about what to do about Western alienation, Quebec separatism and other complex realities of such a diverse country, but Russia has the Caucasus region of Chechnya and all the violence, military campaigns and allegations of human rights abuses that come with it.

Japan

Population:
127 million

GDP:
$5.108 trillion (U.S.)

Leader:
Prime Minister Naoto Kan

G8 issue:
Kan is another leader whose mind may well be stuck on domestic issues. Kan is just weeks in the job and has promised a program to revive Japan’s slow economy and tackle swelling public debt. And he hopes to rebuild public support for his Democratic Party of Japan. That’s not to say that Japan is turning a blind eye to global issues. Kan spoke with Stephen Harper for about 25 minutes on Wednesday and agreed that Canada, as host of the twin summits, and Japan, as host of the APEC summit in November, should co-operate on issues such as the economy and peace, security and development.

Quirky country fact:
The G8 will be Kan’s coming-out party on the world stage, having been named by Japanese lawmakers as leader early this month. Kan, He replaced Yukio Hatoyama, who surprised many when he quit the post in a dispute over the U.S. military base on Okinawa. Kan is Japan’s fifth prime minister in three years.

Canada

Population:
33 million

GDP:
$1.335 trillion (U.S.)

Leader:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper

G8 issue:
The government made maternal health its signature project for this summit, hoping to enlist the support and funding of other nations for the initiative. But the diplomatic push quickly ran into turbulence over Ottawa’s refusal to put abortion on the table as a family planning option. That controversy took some of the glow off Harper’s feel good global initiative. As the summit approaches, federal officials are confident that nations have signed on to give maternal health a significant boost in funding and stature.

Quirky country fact:
Harper has emerged as among the elder leaders of the summit — only Germany’s Angela Merkel hass been around longer. It’s a surprising role for Harper, who came into office in 2006 showing little real appetite for foreign affairs. But as he found his feet in office, it’s a file he has warmed to as he understands what all world leaders eventually figure out — travelling abroad is often a good chance to leave irritating domestic problems behind.

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